Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
Even without FX’s Justified in the mix on the drama side, and Showtime’s Episodes on the comedy side, this year’s Emmy nominees for best series are, indeed, impressive in both their excellence and eclecticism. For Outstanding Drama Series, AMC’s Mad Men has one last chance to win again, while its star, Jon Hamm, has one final chance to win for the first time. Other series include the AMC newcomer Better Call Saul, PBS’s Downton Abbey, HBO’s Game of Thrones, Showtime’s Homeland and Netflix’s House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. As for Outstanding Comedy Series, the dominant returning champion, ABC’s Modern Family, is joined by FX’s Louie, NBC’s Parks and Recreation, HBO’s Silicon Valley and Veep, Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Amazon’s Transparent. Lots of drama on the Emmy telecast this year – and lots of comedy, too. Adam Samberg (pictured) hosts. For predictions about the winners and losers tonight, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.
PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Part 3 of 3. The Wyrley Ripper finally is unmasked in the conclusion of this Sherlock Holmes-adjacent miniseries, which stars Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, trying his hand at solving a real crime for a change – as he did, on this occasion, in real life. Check local listings.
NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET
Eight months ago, in their NFC championship game, the Green Bay Packers were ahead by 12 points when the Seattle Seahawks burst back in the final minutes to tie in regulation, win in overtime, and go on to win Super Bowl XLIX. Now it’s rematch time, in Week 2 of the new NFL season – and Green Bay has the home-field advantage, as well as more motivation than any coach could imagine.
AMC, 9:00 p.m. ET
By the end of last week’s episode, the protagonists of this Walking Dead prequel had been pushed out of their comfort zones – and their homes, and their businesses – by the swelling panic and civil unrest. A visit to the hospital proved fruitless, because health-care facilities were ground zero for the new mayhem – and after all the characters came face to face with at least one zombie (though they didn’t know to call them that, or walkers, just yet), they headed out towards the highway, with the power grid failing all around them. It’s getting to be more familiar territory for us Dead fans, but new, terrifying territory for these characters.
Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET
In tonight’s episode, Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight) gives himself a pity party: a going-away bash, when he’s going away against his will, and under fear of retribution from either the Armenian mob or the FBI.
Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET
Here’s a night out you won’t want to miss: Bill Masters and Virginia Johnson (Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan) go out to dinner, at a fancy restaurant, with their research associate Dan Logan (Josh Charles). Along for the meal is a new character we’re meeting for the first time: Dan’s wife (played by guest star Judy Greer). And that makes the table conversation a bit awkward, because she appears there at the invitation of Bill, not of Dan. Bill is angry that Dan is sleeping with Virginia – Bill also is sleeping with Virginia – and sees this “dinner party” as a way to ruffle some feathers, especially Virginia’s. And he’s right…